


Perspective

by mickey2k14



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Starfleet Academy, Student AU, Student!Jim, preslash, teacher!bones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-16 04:10:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14156412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mickey2k14/pseuds/mickey2k14
Summary: The thing is, Jim's a lot smarter than most people give him credit for  and maybe he'll sometimes play on the stereotype of a country kid from  Nowhere, Iowa but that isn't who he is. And, when he walks into class at  Starfleet, his first thought is not about how much he'd like his  lecturer to bend him over the table. No, it's not the first but it's a  very close second.





	Perspective

The thing is, Jim's a lot smarter than most people give him credit for and maybe he'll sometimes play on the stereotype of a country kid from Nowhere, Iowa but that isn't who he is. And, when he walks into class at Starfleet, his first thought is not about how much he'd like his lecturer to bend him over the table. No, it's not the first but it's a very close second.

His name's Bones and he's a surly medical doctor who's actually a TA for the Human Anatomy class, something Jim only picked up because he was late in selecting modules, and he's never been so glad because Bones is one fine specimen of a man. He's young enough to be in his early twenties and he's got broad shoulders and a well-defined form that shows underneath his loose jeans and buttoned shirt, sleeves rolled up to settle at mid-bicep. Jim spends the whole forty five minutes not listening to a word and just staring at him because, damn, no one's ever made plaid look that good before.

But he's not stupid.

The academy has strict rules, outlined on the first day when the students arrived by an older man whose monotonous voice had sent Jim nodding off in the space of less than an hour, and sleeping with TAs is not something they're encouraged to do. He reckons he could push the rules but, if he's being honest, Starfleet is the last chance for him. If he flunks out of this, he doesn't know what he'll do with himself. It's enough to make him cautious.

So he makes sure his grades are acceptable, never amazing but not low enough to cause concern either, and he puts in the minimum amount of effort in his group assignments. He can see Pike's disappointment and it hurts sometimes because it's been so long since someone believed in him. But, more than that, he knows he's never going to be George Kirk who was captain for twelve minutes and saved eight hundred lives.

He isn't his father, but his shadow sure looms over him.

"I cannae see why you care so much about what other people think." Scotty, one of his few friends, says. "You're Jim Kirk."

"I don't care." Jim says obstinately.

Scotty looks at him, very slowly taking a sip of his whiskey.

"Damn it, Scotty, don't look at me like that!"

"Then don't lie to me."

The thing is, Scotty is one of the few people who can see behind the country boy exterior Jim puts up for everyone else. They talk about advanced physics and theorise all the enhancements they're going to make to their ship when they graduate. And, sometimes, when they've drunk too much and it's the early hours of the morning, they talk about the deeper things - about Jim's shitty childhood with an absent mother and Scotty's more pleasant time in Aberdeen.

Jim thinks it'd be fair to say that Scotty knows more about him than anyone else.

"It's not even him, you know." Jim says, staring down at the amber liquid in his glass.

"I know."

"It's her." He doesn't have to say her name, he prefers not to, and Scotty knows who he's talking about from the complicated mix of emotions in his voice. "I used to hate her so much for how much she loved him, loved him more than me, but I got to a good place. I stopped caring so much. And now I'm here in Starfleet where George fucking Kirk is this untouchable hero and I'm his dumb, dropout son."

"You're not dumb."

"But I'm not him, either."

"I like you more than him," Scotty says, and raises his glass as a salute, "I wouldn't be able to drink with a guy like George but I can with you."

Jim can hear what he's saying and he grins back at him, pleased.

But, for all he has his friends and they tell him not to care, he does. He knows that other people's opinions don't matter but their whispers and the looks add up and beat him down. He doesn't want to play their game and work to impress them but there are also some days when he isn't strong enough to deal with the whole world and their judgement.

Which is how he comes with the way to beat the Kobayashi Maru.

Scotty thinks it's hilarious, and Keenser chirps in agreement.

They're not laughing as much when Jim's called up in front of the disciplinary hearing for cheating. It's daunting and Jim has to wipe his sweaty hands on his trousers but he's also confident he can defend himself and, in case anyone still doubts him after the results of the simulation, he can show them how smart he is.

And there's the distress call from Vulcan and Jim is told he's sitting out.

"No!" he says, even as the security officer is walking away. "I can't stay here."

"Tough luck," she says, unsympathetic as anything. "It's Starfleet rules."

Keenser thinks they should smuggle them onto the ship they've been assigned too, hidden with some extra engineering equipment. It's busy enough that it might have worked but then Scotty was dragged away by some commanding officer and Keenser was hauled another way.

"Well, fuck." Jim says, sat on a bench while everyone else mills around in a rush of activity.

"Hey, I heard you haven't been assigned to a ship."

Jim glances to see who's sat down next to him, taking a second to recognise Bones in something other than jeans and a shirt. He looks good in uniform.

"Yeah," he says, shrugging it off. "Turns out that's what happens when you beat the Kobayashi Maru."

"Listen," Bones says, "I liked what you did during that test. We need a guy who can think like you do if we're warping into a fight."

Of course, it's just Jim's luck that Bones notices him and he can't do anything but watch as he leaves on a ship.

"I can get you on the Enterprise."

"But I'm not cleared for duty."

Bones grins at him and then shoots him with a hypo.

There were a lot of things Jim had expected of Bones and this, shooting a student with an unknown medical history with a vaccine, was not that. To be fair, though, Jim should know a thing about expectations and how wrong they could be. And, wow, watching Bones argue with a security officer and successfully emasculate him was quite possibly the most arousing thing he'd seen.

"You're kind of perfect."

Bones looks at him and then does a double take, which is worrying from a doctor. "Oh shit, you're having an allergic reaction."

Jim thinks that, given the circumstances, his discovery they're warping into a trap is even more of an achievement. And he thinks, out of the corner of his eye, he sees Bones look at him thoughtfully with a new perspective.


End file.
